Sunday, October 12, 2014

OK, part III, little kennie ham has been heard from, and he pretty much shrugs his shoulders and says "So What’s This Hubbub All About?" I think we now have an idea of what his strategy is going to be. His post, if you want to read it yourself, is: "Ark Encounter in the Headlines Again!"

How I read this is that kennie is going to . . . and let me quote him to make sure I get it right . . .

"The Ark Encounter has confirmed over and over to the state and media
that it will carefully adhere to all applicable federal and state laws
in hiring."

Here's the thing made clear in this post, kennie thinks that his organization's discriminatory hiring practices are within applicable federal and state laws because he's a religion . . . did he forget the part about for-profit business?. There is where we disagree.

Kennie tries to compare what he is doing to the two other organizations, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) and American Atheists, claiming how foolish it would be to force them to hire people who disagree with their basic philosophy. This raises several question to me.

The first question is simple, is a religious organization who owns a for-profit company asking for state funds and tax incentives allowed to discriminate in their hiring practices? I don't know the legal end, but common sense tells me they are not so allowed, or at least they should not be.

Second of all are Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) and American Atheists building some edifice and asking for state money and tax incentives? I took a look at their websites and don't see them asking for state money or tax incentives for anything. So what kennie is trying to do is distract us from the central issue of the money. Quite disingenuous if you ask me!

Third question is do Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) and American Atheists discriminate in their hiring practices? There is nothing on their websites that indicate they focus on anything other than the ability to do the job for any applicants . . . I repeat . . . nothing. So kennie's comparison is meaningless.

Fourth question. Little kennie, like Mike Zovath, is trying to claim this as an issue of religious freedom. Since when does religious freedom require state funds and tax incentives?

Fifth question. Little kennie says that the whole issue of state money and tax incentives have been used by 'similar tourist projects'. Is that a true statement? Are there other religious ministries asking for state funds and tax incentives? For some reason I think kennie is again trying to confuse everyone. His ministry is not for the purpose of bringing in tourists. It's not for entertainment, it's not for everyone either. It is a religious ministry, as he himself said! AiG is a ministry, the Creation 'Museum' is a ministry and the Ark Encounter is a ministry! Somehow I don't think Kentucky has authorized state money and tax incentives for any similar projects. I think if that was true, kennie would have said something more than a vague 'similar tourist projects'. He would have named the project!

I did find humor in one thing, remember when one of kennie's many attorneys claimed the job opening that raised this whole issue was for AiG and not for the Ark Encounter Ministry, at least kennie himself validated that the job opening was not for AiG, but for the Ark Encounters Ministry. So I guess his lawyer did tell an untruth. Gee, a lawyer lying? Who would have thought?

Little kennie closed with these two lines:

"Think about it—groups like the AU would rather Kentucky not have
millions of dollars in additional revenue to fund programs to benefit
its citizens than see a Christian message proclaimed.
Ultimately, AU and groups like them want freedom from Christianity, not freedom of religion! Thankfully, under our Constitution, such oppressive ideas will never float."

Is kennie's new project going to generate millions of dollars in additional revenue? I would like to see how much money the so-called Creation 'Museum' has earned for the State of Kentucky? For some reason I think he's overstating the idea of millions. I would really like to know exactly how much money from kennie's various activities has been given to the state to fund other programs for the benefit of it's citizens?

You know what I would really love to know. . . if any of the money from kennie's activities are used to fund any programs kennie himself would object to? Now that would be hilarious! I know, no way to figure that out. If there is anything from kennie's activities, it would be lumped in with other monies . . . but I still think it would be hilarious.

I think he also misstates who is oppressing whom. kennie has stated over and over again that he does not believe in freedom of religion. His idea of freedom of religion is that he is free to believe as he wishes and he is free to make you believe as he wishes as well. He is perfectly willing to use the Constitution to force his views on other people. He has, in my opinion, set up his own sect of Evangelical Christianity. I personally believe kennie should no longer be considered a Christian, but his followers should be called 'Hamians', but he won't agree. He gets too much mileage claiming persecution when anyone disagrees with whatever he seems to want.

I am clear in what I believe, and I know kennie will call me an atheist . . . which is fine with me. Little kennie thinks anyone who disagrees with him is an atheist, regardless of their actual religious beliefs. But I believe the State of Kentucky should allow kennie to build his next ministry, but he should be given the freedom to fund it himself and not ask the people of Kentucky for one cent!

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This blog is more a way for me to clarify my own thinking and opinions more than for any other purpose. I like writing things down, having links to source material, and offering my own $.02. I find a blog let's me do that. I encourage comments and emails from any who wish to do so. I am not shy, as you might have noticed, and I am also not afraid of a dissenting view. I might disagree with you, but I will defend your right to say what you think as well as I expect the same respect!

Why blog on this particular topic? Well after seeing the tactics of groups like the Discovery Institute, I couldn't stay silent on the subject. After the Discovery Institute spins their lies, after the defendants in the Dover trial LIED under oath, and after Texas fired their state science curriculum director for forwarding an email appropriate to her duties-- I couldn't sit back and just watch.

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I am a family man who works in Ohio, Information Technology and computer programming are my areas of expertise. For those of you who know me, growing grass in my backyard is obviously not, so quit laughing!
Why blog? In all honesty, why not? It's fun, has been very educational, and it also has offered me insights into people and positions I may not have thought much about before. (http://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers)